Coleman happy as Ramblers hit back
SOCCER
Daire Walsh
FOLLOWING recent mixed form in the SSE Airtricity U19 Southern Elite Division, Cobh Ramblers manager Declan Coleman was delighted to return to winning ways against Cabinteely at Stradbrook last Sunday afternoon.
The St Colman’s Park outfit had claimed just one points from previous encounters with Munster rivals Limerick and Cork City, and despite feeling that their win could have been more comprehensive than 2-1, he was pleased with the overall performance of his team.
“I’m delighted with the win. The last two games we didn’t win. We lost to Limerick, and we drew with City, so it’s good to get back to winning ways. I thought we played very, very well, and probably could have been another few goals on the scoreline as well,” Coleman stated after the game.
“I thought 2-1 probably flattered them a little bit. Well, it took away from our performance rather than flattered them. Overall, I was very happy with the performance.”
Before defender Gordon Walker opened the scoring with a 36th-minute goal, Cobh striker Darren Murphy had a penalty saved by Cabinteely custodian Sean Hyland. Coleman revealed that there was considerable discussion about who would take this spot-kick, but he was nevertheless thrilled that they were able to pick themselves up before the end of the half.
“There was a little bit of a debate about that [the penalty], because last week I mentioned that one of the other lads was going to be our penalty taker, and then Darren [Murphy] got taken down and he grabbed the ball.
“They were arguing about it, and I didn’t want to cause too much of a fuss about it, and have fellas arguing before the penalty is taken. I just shouted to leave Darren have it, but obviously Eoin [Davis] is going to be disappointed when Darren missed then, and Eoin was supposed to be the taker.
“It was good to pick ourselves up, we got a good goal. We’ve worked a little bit of set-pieces, so I was happy that it paid off there.” With 11 points from six games to date, Cobh currently occupy fourth-place in the Southern Elite table, and Coleman is eager to build momentum in the next few weeks.
“To have what we have so far, we’re still up there. We’re keeping our name up around the top-four, which is always good. Because with the play-off at the end of the season, you only need to get into the top-four.
“I’d still prefer to be finishing first than fourth, but we’ll take it. We’ve had a good start, and hopefully we’ll just keep building momentum. The win is good for the confidence.